The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Azalea, botanically known as Rhododendron hybrida, an evergreen greenhouse-forcing type Azalea, and hereinafter referred to by the name xe2x80x98Timelessxe2x80x99.
The new Azalea is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventors in Salinas, Calif. and Alva, Fla. The objective of the breeding program is to create new Azalea varieties having uniform plant habit, profuse and uniform flowering, dark green foliage, good foliage retention during the cooling and forcing periods, resistance to Cylindrocladium, and excellent postproduction longevity.
The new Azalea originated from a cross made by the Inventors in February, 1990, in Salinas, Calif., of a proprietary Azalea seedling selection identified as YB-160, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent with the cultivar xe2x80x98Solitairexe2x80x99, not patented, as the male, or pollen, parent. The new Azalea was discovered and selected by the Inventors as a flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross in a controlled environment in Alva, Fla., in March, 1993. The selection of this plant was based on its hose-in-hose flower form, bright pink flower color, ruffled petal margins, large flowers, uniform flowering response, very good foliage retention, and excellent postproduction longevity.
Asexual reproduction of the new Azalea by terminal cuttings taken in a controlled environment in Alva, Fla. since September, 1993, has shown that the unique features of this new Azalea are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.
The new Azalea has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature, daylength, light intensity, relative humidity, fertilizer rate and type, and/or water status without, however, any variance in genotype.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98Timelessxe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Timelessxe2x80x99 as a new and distinct cultivar:
1. Dark green glossy leaves that do not abscise during the cooling and forcing periods.
2. Compact plants with dense, upright and outwardly spreading plant habit.
3. Very freely branching habit; usually about 5 or 6 lateral branches develop after pinching.
4. Rapid flowering response; plants begin flowering about 25 days after cooling treatment.
5. Numerous, large and showy bright pink-colored flowers.
6. Hose-in-hose flower form.
7. Ruffled petal margins.
8. Excellent postproduction longevity with plants maintaining good flower substance for more than four weeks in an interior environment.
9. Very low incidence of infection with Cylindrocladium in inoculated trials.
Plants of the new Azalea differ from plants of the female parent, the selection YB-160, in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Azalea are larger and not as compact as plants of the selection YB-160.
2. Plants of the new Azalea have hose-in-hose flowers whereas plants of the selection YB-160 have double flowers.
3. Plants of the new Azalea have brighter pink-colored flowers than plants of the selection YB-160.
Plants of the new Azalea are similar in flower color to the plants of the male parent, the cultivar xe2x80x98Solitairexe2x80x99; plants of the new Azalea differ from plants of the cultivar xe2x80x98Solitairexe2x80x99 in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Azalea are more compact, more symmetrical and not as outwardly spreading as plants of the cultivar xe2x80x98Solitairexe2x80x99.
2. Plants of the new Azalea flower more uniformly than plants of the cultivar xe2x80x98Solitairexe2x80x99.
3. Plants of the new Azalea flower are more resistant to infection by Cylindrocladium than plants of the cultivar xe2x80x98Solitairexe2x80x99.
Plants of the new Azalea can be compared to the plants of the cultivar xe2x80x98YB 871 Remembrancexe2x80x99, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 9,132. However, in side-by-side comparisons conducted in Alva, Fla., plants of the new Azalea differed from plants of the cultivar xe2x80x98YB 871 Remembrancexe2x80x99 in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Azalea have hose-in-hose flowers whereas plants of the cultivar xe2x80x98YB 871 Remembrancexe2x80x99 have semi-double flowers.
2. Plants of the new Azalea have larger flowers than plants of the cultivar xe2x80x98YB 871 Remembrancexe2x80x99.
3. Plants of the new Azalea have lighter pink flowers than plants of the cultivar xe2x80x98YB 871 Remembrancexe2x80x99.